Play It Again, Brian (Family Guy)

Warning! Mature Content! The following work contains material and themes that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images that may be disturbing to some viewers. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age or above. If you are 18 years old or above, or are comfortable with mature content, you are free to view this page; otherwise, you should close this page and view another one. Reader discretion is advised.

"Play It Again, Brian (Family Guy)"
"Lois, my darling!"
Series: Family Guy Part of Season: 6 Episode Number: 10 Air Date: March 2, 2008 Writer: Danny Smith Director: John Holmquist Previous episode: "Back to the Woods" Next episode: "The Former Life of Brian"

"Play It Again, Brian" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of Family Guy. The episode originally aired on Fox on March 2, 2008.

Plot

The episode follows Peter and Lois, who are going through a tense time in their marriage. Brian invites them to Martha's Vineyard to see him receive a prize for an essay he wrote, and they leave their kids with Herbert.

Bad Qualities

1. One problem with this episode is how lazy the writing feels.
2. Brian is extremely unlikable here, and this is one of the times where he's at his worst to the point that he actually tried to kiss and have sex with Lois. In fact, this can be seen as an early sign of his flanderization.
   • He claims to Peter that he doesn't deserve her and saying that he's always selfish to Lois, despite the fact he tried to have sex with Lois, making him a hypocrite.
     • Even Peter calls him out for this.
   • "Brian in Love" from Season 2 also involved something like this, but Brian didn't stoop to this low.
3. The scenes where Peter blatantly advertises Massachusetts are intrusive, annoying, and unfunny.
4. Speaking of Peter, he himself is no better and shows an early sense of his Flanderization by acting neglectful towards Lois and deciding to hang out with his friends instead. he basically acts like a complete idiot and is childish in this episode. He even insults Brian’s ex-girlfriend, Jillian by saying that she is dumber that Lou Ferrigno, which starts the fight between Peter and Brian in this episode. Granted, this blame goes on the writers for trying to make Peter the villain and Brian the good guy.
5. The running gag of Peter dressed up in a suit and saying "Oh.... right." can get annoying.
6. Some of the jokes either fall flat or don't go anywhere like the "Fruit-Stripe Gum" cutaway, the handkerchief look and the scenes with Nathan Lane.
7. The infamous scene where Brian tries to kiss Lois, which is bestiality and absolutely unacceptable to watch considering that he is literally trying to hit on his best friend's wife, the same person who literally cared for him and made sure he was alright. This brings Brian's character to even newer lows than expected.
   • The "Lois my darling!" sequence is irritating and not really humorous at all.
8. Continuity Error: This episode ignores the season 1 episode “Brian In Love”, which also revolved around Brian’s feelings for Lois. Lois does not bring up the fact that in that episode, she and Brian hashed out the issues between them and decide to just remain friends. This episode is also a rehash of “Brian In Love”.
   • This episode also ignores the episode, “Perfect Castaway”, which showed Brian marrying Lois to support the family while they both believed that Peter was dead. Nobody not mentions this marriage at all here.
9. Bad ending: Peter accepts the fact that Brian tried to kiss and have sex with his own wife.

Good Qualities

1. The sub-plot of Herbert the Pervert babysitting the Griffin kids was funny and one of the few saving graces.
   • There were also plenty of other funny scenes and lines:
     • The "Damn Nature, You Scary" cutaway is funny.
     • The scene with the shark from "Jaws" is also funny.
     • Herbert's song, "All I need is a boy" is hilarious.
     • The cutaway involving Stewie in a "Grateful Dead" show.
       • "Does anybody wanna buy my shirt? I'll trade you my shirt for a grilled cheese!"
     • "The Evil Monkey" reappearing at the end of the episode.
     • "Are you a pedophile?"
     • "He he he he he he, I'm half-shark and half-Peter, don't come near me, I will eat you."
     • "And don't you mouth off to me or I'm gonna slap you right in your penis."
2. Brian actually does feels remorseful for his actions and regrets trying to hit on Lois.
3. Lois, Chris, Stewie, Herbert and Meg are the only likable characters here.
4. The "Spirit of Massachusetts" song (despite being overused) is good and catchy.
5. While Peter is unlikable in this episode, he was absolutely right to call out Brian for his actions in this episode even though Peter had no right to insult Jillian behind her back here.
6. "As time goes by" sung by Seth MacFarlane is nice to listen to.
7. The fight scene between Peter and Brian fight is awesome, satisfying and justifiable.

Reception

• "Play It Again, Brian" received a 7.2/10 rating on IMDb.
• Jem Reviews ranked "Play It Again, Brian" at #8 on his "Top 10 WORST Family Guy Episodes" video.

Videos

Load video

YouTube

YouTube might collect personal data. Privacy Policy

ContinueDismiss

External Links

Play It Again, Brian at the Internet Movie Database

Comments

Loading comments...